Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!bloom-beacon!apple!claris!ames!oliveb!sun!plaid!chuq
From: chuq@plaid.Sun.COM (Chuq Von Rospach)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Word Processing.  Why the silence?
Keywords: Best, Worst, Reviews, etc...
Message-ID: <76338@sun.uucp>
Date: 5 Nov 88 17:21:59 GMT
References: <1988Nov4.221606.20356@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu>
Sender: news@sun.uucp
Reply-To: chuq@sun.UUCP (Chuq Von Rospach)
Organization: Fictional Reality
Lines: 59

>I've noticed that
>the most recent McUser chooses WriteNow 2.0 as the best word processor 
>(although, I would concede that the specific author chose WriteNow as
>the best package for themselves personally).

That was Dan Shafer. Somehow, that doesn't fill me with gobs of confience
over the choice.... (Seriously, the MacUser article was, if you ask me,
rather on the fluffy side....)

>However, I would hope that others have chosen different
>word processors for their specific needs.  Why did discussion of word
>processors dry up?

WEll, I just commented on why I switched back (am switching back. These
things are time consuming... sigh) to Word 3 from Fullwrite. Most of the
silence is probably caused by there being no new programs to yell about.
When Word 4.0 ships, expect there to be enough discussion to make silence
preferable....

>Is there a consensus as to the 'Net users" preferred
>word processing package?  Which is best and why? 

First, you have to break word processors down between high-end and low-end
products. Comparing Microsoft Word and MacWrite is silly, because they're
separate markets.

I define high-end products as Word, FullWrite and WordPerfect.

I define low-end products as MacWrite, Microsoft Write, WriteNow and
everyone else. The breakdown is partially price-based and partially
complexity/functionality/features (and up for negotiation).

I haven't looked in the low-end market for a while, because they don't have
enough power for the kind of writing I do. So I'll leave others to talk
about them, rather than say something stupid and uninformed (I prefer to say
things that are stupid and informed).

Of the big three, here is my ranking:

	1) nobody (maybe word 4.0, maybe fwp 2.0. maybe)
	1.5) Word 3.0 (the program you love to hate, but it does 
		the job better than anyone else right now)
	1.75) FullWrite Pro (the program you want to love, but it just
		won't give you a commitment.)
	5) WordPerfect (I hate it. I hate it. I always will. Your mileage
		may vary).

I've looked at WordPerfect a couple of times. I hate it. Interface,
internals, the color of its eyes. It makes my skin crawl. These are not
objective comments, but that's life. I'm sure the WP fans will yell at me
for it, but that's my reaction to the program. I'd cut off my hands first.

As to Word and Fullwrite, I wrote an article on this within the last week,
so I won't duplicate myself...


Chuq Von Rospach	Editor/Publisher, OtherRealms		chuq@sun.COM

It's not justice you want, Roderick! It's blood!